Kenneth Poe Funeral Services

November 29, 2023

CHARLOTTE – Barbara McNaught Hunter, our dearly beloved Mom, passed peacefully on Wednesday, November 29, 2023, after celebrating her 88^th birthday on Thanksgiving Day.  Her four children, Parks, John, Evan and Kristin, will miss her terribly.  Her kindness, generosity, energy and enthusiasm for life and finally her unconditional love for others were bountiful and the essence of her life.  Mom graduated with a degree in art from the University of Michigan in May 1957 as did her parents, Gerald and Gladys McNaught, and her two siblings, Don and Marilyn.  She was a member of Tri Delta sorority at Michigan and was tapped for induction into the Mortar Board Society her senior year which was a very prestigious honor that she loved to recall in her stories.  This past September she gave her Tri Delta ring and pendant to her granddaughter Helene after she pledged Tri Delta this fall at UNC-CH.

She was married to our dear father Parks DeArmon Hunter Jr. (De) for 27 years before his very sudden death from a heart attack while serving at Aldersgate UMC in Shelby.  They met at a party while working at different resorts up in Maine one summer during college.  Dad would always recall that the first time he saw Mom she had a beer in her hand on the dance floor.  It was love at first sight.  Mom initially thought she was marrying a future doctor.  However, the day before Dad was to report to med school at UNC-CH he called the med school dean to inform him that he had received the calling to be a minister.  We would lovingly tease Mom saying Dad had given her the old bait and switch.  Mom served as the devoted wife of a Methodist minister (one of the toughest jobs around) in the Western NC Conference for 27 years where she learned to stretch the value a dollar like nobody else could even imagine.  She was also very adept at packing since Dad served churches in Charlotte, Greensboro, Reidsville, Winston-Salem, Greensboro again, and finally Shelby.  Mom immersed herself in the activities of every church Dad served and over time she learned to bite her tongue when it came to church politics and believe me that did not come easy for a very outspoken, independent woman from Michigan.  We fondly recall many a Sunday meal after church where Mom would explode out of her seat at the dining room table to hide the wine she and Dad were having with the Sunday meal because a church member was walking up the driveway to pay a visit.

Mom’s life revolved around her family, friends and faith while serving and helping countless others.  She was our biggest fan and would do anything, literally anything, for her four children and seven grandchildren.  She was a genuine friend to many although it might have been difficult to get a word in at times.  Mom was always at-the-ready to offer you her opinion and advice and you did not even have to ask for it.  She lived in the Aldersgate Retirement Community in Charlotte these past eight years to be closer to her family.  She reconnected with dear friends that had also served in the Western NC Conference and created new friendships while at Aldersgate. 

If you would like to give a memorial please give to it UMAR, a non-profit organization that assists individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities.  Mom was a strong advocate of UMAR where our sister Kristin has thrived as a resident these past 34 years and where our bother Parks served on the UMAR board for 8 years and COB for 2 years.  Mail all memorials to UMAR, P.O. Box 480291, Charlotte, NC 28269.

A memorial service will be held at 2:00 PM on Thursday, February 1, 2024, in the chapel at Aldersgate Retirement Community, 3800 Shamrock Drive, Charlotte, NC.  The family will receive friends following the service.

We love you Mom!  God speed and safe travels.  Give Dad our love.

Arrangements are in the care of Kenneth W. Poe Funeral & Cremation Service, 1321 Berkeley Ave., Charlotte, NC 28204; (704) 641-7606. Online condolences may be shared at www.kennethpoeservices.com.